IONTAS Limited (IONTAS), a leader in the discovery and optimization of fully human antibodies, announced it has signed a collaboration agreement with Korean-based LG Chem, Ltd. for the discovery of therapeutic antibodies targeting undisclosed targets for use in the treatment of cancers. Under the agreement IONTAS will use its proprietary antibody discovery platforms to deliver antibodies against biological targets selected by LG Chem, Ltd. and to further prove the biological activity of the antibodies.

Dr. Neil Butt, CBO of IONTAS, said: “This new agreement marks IONTAS’ expansion into the Asian market, and we are delighted to have been selected by LG Chem, Ltd., after a rigorous diligence process. The application of our proprietary technologies will assist LG Chem, Ltd. in expanding its current therapeutic pipeline by generating leads against pre-defined specifications agreed at the project outset.”

Dr. Myung Jin Kim, executive vice president / R&D leader, Life Sciences R&D of LG Chem, Ltd., said: “IONTAS was selected because of its robust track record and technical know-how. We feel confident this collaboration will result in a strong panel of therapeutic leads which will help develop our oncology pipeline.”